Q: Our esteemed Sayed, there are those who claim that supplication at home, in seclusion, is what is correct, and that people should not gather in the mosques to keep vigil on the virtuous nights, such as the Night of Qadr; rather, keeping vigil on them should be individual. How sound is that?
A:
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In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the messengers, our master Muhammad, and his pure family. To proceed:
With regard to the supplicant, supplication has states, and each state yields its effect and pours forth its blessings while one is remembering Allah, communing with Him intimately and imploring Him. At times it is in complete seclusion; at times with the congregations of those who pray, as in congregational prayer, where supplication during and after the prayer is recommended (mustaḥabb); and at times in a gathering of forty believers, or in the believers' gathering at the places of supplication. Each has its merit and role.
Secret and hidden supplication is for achieving sincerity and keeping away from ostentation, while open supplication is for attaining the blessing of the congregation, for realizing the going forth to Allah in supplication, and as an upbuilding of the houses of Allah the Exalted.
Therefore, encouragement has come for secret supplication, and likewise for open and collective supplication.
The Exalted has said: “Supplicate your Lord, beseechingly and secretly. Indeed, He does not like the transgressors.” (Qurʾan 7:55)
From the Prophet (s): “A secret supplication equals seventy supplications made openly.”
Encouragement has also come for collective supplication and for gathering in supplication, as in His words, exalted is He: “Content yourself with the company of those who supplicate their Lord morning and evening, desiring His Face” (Qurʾan 18:28)
And in the hadith from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): “There is no group of forty men who gather and supplicate Allah Almighty concerning a matter but that He answers them. If they are not forty, then [there are no] four who supplicate Allah Almighty ten times but that Allah answers them —and if they are not four, then one who supplicates Allah forty times, and Allah, the All-mighty, the All-compeller, answers him.”
Moreover, the believer is required to revive the religion and its landmarks and to revive the rites of Allah together with his brothers; he is required to keep the mosques of Allah alive with prayer, remembrance and supplication; and he is required to frequent the noble shrines of the Household of infallibility and purity—in the houses in which the Name of Allah the Exalted is remembered—together with the believers who journey to these pure places from every direction and from every distant ravine.
This is the summary of the matter, and we shall elaborate on it as follows:
In view of the many questions about this subject, and because there are some among the people of knowledge who disapprove of the believers' gathering in the mosques to keep vigil on the noble nights, such as the Nights of Qadr, the night of the ʿId, the fifteenth of Shaʿban and others, we shall address the subject by way of laying its foundation, and in the course of the discussion the resolution of the objections raised will become clear.
Although the matter may seem self-evident to some, others insist on the idea that the religion called the believer only to supplication in seclusion, and some may attribute the custom of the believers' gathering in the mosques for supplication to innovation (bidʿa). This may go back to one of several reasons, among them: a confusion in understanding; or a deficient and limited view of the religion and its texts; or a partial, truncated understanding of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a); or the nature of the view taken of the texts of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), whereby they apply only what the narrations stated literally and explicitly, without regard to their (a) general teachings and to the many insights in the numerous narrations—so one does not bring the narrations together to establish the idea, nor look at the allusions in their (a) speech in order to derive insights of knowledge from them.
At the outset, we mention several observations:
The first observation: Prohibition requires evidence, for the default principle is permissibility, especially since the guidance of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) is, for the most part, general and without restriction, except in some instances owing to the particularity of the instance and the situation.
For example, it has come in the report from the Messenger of Allah (s): “When it is the last part of the night, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: ‘Is there anyone supplicating, that I may answer him? Is there anyone asking, that I may give him what he asks? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there anyone repenting, that I may accept his repentance?’”
This hadith is general, covering the individual or the group, for it speaks of a time in which supplication is accepted; so whether an individual performs it in secret, or people gather and raise their palms in supplication in the last part of the night, they attain forgiveness.
The second observation: Collective supplication does not necessarily mean making it public; rather, the supplicant in the mosque, while he is among people, may have a hidden supplication, such as praying for his brothers in their absence, or repenting of his sins. Thus both designations may be realized together. Hence the narrations that came concerning the preference of secrecy over openness do not cover the case where the two states are combined, for it is true of one who supplicates together with the group that he has supplicated with a hidden supplication, especially in large crowds, as happens at the noble shrines or in the large congregational mosques and the thriving mosques.
Collective supplication, then, contains open supplication and hidden supplication. We will set out in detail the forms of open supplication when laying its foundation in the narrations, in what follows.
The third observation: There is a relationship between complete seclusion and gathering, even while a person is in his own home. A person may keep his supplication completely secret, or he may keep it secret from people in general while the members of his household know of it or join him in the supplication. Indeed, hidden supplication is usually realized even while a person is among the crowd.
The fourth observation: In the hadith from the Prophet (s): “A secret supplication equals seventy supplications made openly.”
This narration affirms two matters:
First: that secret supplication has special merits that are not found in open supplication; but that does not mean that open supplication has no merits whatsoever.
Second: that open supplication is an established matter and is not rejected, because the narration merely expressed a preference; it neither abolished open supplication nor prohibited it.
We can see a similar example in secret charity and open charity; this is a rule that covers acts of worship in their entirety.
The Exalted said: “Those who give their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, they shall have their reward near their Lord, and they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.” (Qurʾan 2:274)
Now we come to discussing collective supplication and laying its foundation in the Islamic vision, from the perspective of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and the insights of the Noble Qurʾan.
Collective supplication has several forms, from which we discover the encouragement of the believers' gathering in supplication and the urging of them to keep to it regularly. We mention several of these forms:
The first form:
The explicit Qurʾanic call to stay with the believing community in supplication and humble entreaty to Allah the Exalted at various times, morning and evening. The Exalted said: “Content yourself with the company of those who supplicate their Lord morning and evening, desiring His Face”. (Qurʾan 18:28)
And in the advice of the Prophet (s) to Ibn Masʿud, he clarifies for us this meaning, which includes prayer, supplication and glorifications, where he said: “O Ibn Masʿud, keep yourself patiently with those who remember Allah, glorify Him, declare that there is no god but Him, praise Him, act in obedience to Him and supplicate Him morning and evening, for Allah the Exalted says: ‘Content yourself with the company of those who supplicate their Lord morning and evening, desiring His Face, and do not lose sight of them…’ (Qurʾan 18:28)”
The second form:
The believers' gathering in supplication for a matter they share; this kind of supplication brings about the answer.
In the hadith from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): “There is no group of forty men who gather and supplicate Allah Almighty concerning a matter but that He answers them. If they are not forty, then [there are no] four who supplicate Allah Almighty ten times but that Allah answers them —and if they are not four, then one who supplicates Allah forty times, and Allah, the All-mighty, the All-compeller, answers him.”
It has also been narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a): “Never have four gathered over a matter and supplicated Allah the Exalted but that they dispersed with an answer.”
Our Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: “Any two or three believers who gather with a brother of theirs—feeling safe from his harm, not fearing his treachery, and hoping for what he has—if they supplicate Allah, He answers them; if they ask Him, He gives them; if they ask for more, He gives them more; and if they are silent, He begins [His giving] to them.”
The third form:
The believers' gathering for supplication in such a way that one person recites the supplication and the gathering says “Amen” to his supplication. It has been narrated that saying “Amen” (taʾmin) to supplication is recommended; taʾmin is for the listeners to say “Amen,” which means “O Allah, answer,” after the particular supplicant has supplicated, or after each section of the supplication. This means that there is a gathering for supplication in one place, such that the gathering listens to one person and shares the supplication with him.
It has been narrated from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): “The one who supplicates and the one who says ‘Amen’ are partners.”
And from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a), who said: My father (a), “when a matter grieved him, would call the women and the children; then he would supplicate and they would say ‘Amen.’”
And from ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Hasan, from his grandfather ʿAli ibn Jaʿfar, from his brother Musa ibn Jaʿfar (a); he said: I asked him about a man who supplicates while his brothers are around him: is it obligatory upon them to say “Amen”? He said: “If they wish, they do so, and if they wish, they remain silent. But if he supplicates and says to them, ‘Say Amen,’ it is obligatory upon them to do so.”
Concerning the words of Allah the Exalted, “Said He, ‘Your supplication has already been granted’” (Qurʾan 10:89), it has been narrated from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Moses supplicated, Aaron said ‘Amen,’ and the angels said ‘Amen,’ so Allah the Exalted said: ‘Your supplication has already been granted.’ (Qurʾan 10:89)”
And in ʿUddat al-Daʿi, he said: It has been narrated that Allah revealed to Jesus (a): “O Jesus, draw near to the believers and command them to supplicate Me together with you.”
This is an explicit call showing the desirability of the believers' gathering in supplication.
Likewise, in the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt (a): Imam al-Husayn (a), at ʿArafa, would recite his well-known supplication in a sorrowful voice that the people heard, while they followed along with him and said “Amen” to his supplication, in a state of complete detachment unto Allah the Exalted, as the Imam's voice, the Imam's spirit and the Imam's words carried them to the holy courts of the Lord of might and majesty.
The fourth form
The supplication of the believers gathered together in mosques or elsewhere while performing congregational prayer; this is one of the forms of collective supplication.
The Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Whoever leads a people in prayer and singles himself out in supplication, excluding them, has betrayed them.”
Moreover, many narrations have mentioned that supplication after the obligatory prayers, and asking for one's needs at those times, is recommended. It is well known that the religion encourages prayer in the mosque and urges congregational prayer, and this represents a state of the believers' gathering in supplication, as derived from the narrations that spoke of the general urging of the believers to supplicate after the obligatory prayers.
From Imam al-Sadiq (a): “Allah has made the prayers obligatory upon you at the times most beloved to Him, so ask Allah for your needs following your obligatory prayers.” There is no doubt that this covers both the individual and the congregational obligatory prayer.
The fifth form
Calling the believers to head to the mosques and fill them with the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and calling them to journey to the Sacred House of Allah and to the noble shrines of the Household of infallibility and purity, represents a state of the believers' gathering in these places, since the rites and acts of worship include supplication, seeking intercession (tawassul) and remembrance in general. This is another state of gathering.
The Exalted said: “In houses Allah has allowed to be raised and wherein His Name is celebrated; He is glorified therein, morning and evening” (Qurʾan 24:36)
The narrations encouraging frequenting the mosques, the hajj and visiting the noble shrines are numerous.
It has come in the report about the pilgrims in their rites: “Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says to the angels on that day: ‘O My angels, do you not see My servants and My handmaids, who have come from the far corners of the lands, disheveled and covered in dust? Do you know what they are asking for?’ They say: ‘Our Lord, they are asking You for forgiveness.’ He says: ‘I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.’”…
And in the noble verse: “Then when you stream out of ‘Arafat remember Allah at the Holy Mash‘ar” (Qurʾan 2:198).
And in the hadith qudsi: “Behold, My houses on earth are the mosques; so blessed is the servant who purifies himself in his house and then visits Me in My house.”
The conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) supports the urging to supplicate in the mosque. In al-Kafi, from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a), he said: “When my father sought a need, he would seek it at the sun's decline from the meridian; when he wished to do so, he would first give something in charity, smell some perfume and go to the mosque, and supplicate for his need as Allah willed.”
The believers gather at the noble shrines on all days, and on the eve of Friday in particular, and on certain nights designated for ziyarah, such as the first of Rajab and its middle, the middle of Shaʿban, ʿArafa, al-Ghadir and others… And in the hadith about the grave of Imam al-Husayn (a), Allah has made “the answering of supplication beneath his dome.”
The sixth form
The believers' gathering in certain acts of worship and supplicating in them collectively as part of those acts of worship, namely the prayer of the two ʿIds and the prayer for rain, where the crowds go out to cry out to Allah the Exalted with their supplications beneath the canopy of the sky.
The Exalted said: “Plead to your Lord for forgiveness. Indeed, He is all-forgiving. He will send for you abundant rains from the sky, and aid you with wealth and sons, and provide you with gardens and provide you with streams” (Qurʾan 71:10–12)
Imam al-Sadiq was asked about the prayer for rain, and he said: “[It is] like the prayer of the two ʿIds; one recites in it and proclaims Allah's greatness in it. The imam goes out and proceeds to a clean place with tranquility, dignity, humility and lowliness, and the people go out with him. He praises Allah, glorifies Him, extols Him and strives in supplication, and he frequently glorifies [Allah], declares [that there is no god but Allah] and proclaims [His] greatness. He prays two rakʿas like the prayer of the two ʿIds, in supplication, entreaty and striving. When the imam has said the salutation, he turns his garment over, putting the side that was on the right shoulder on the left shoulder, and that which was on the left on the right, for the Prophet (s) did so.”
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These six forms that we have mentioned, along with other narrations, affirm and make clear, in a way that leaves no room for doubt, that the believers' gathering in supplication is one of the things that bring about the answering of supplication; indeed, it is one of the rites of the religion that should be revived, and it is also part of the hue of Allah (ṣibghat Allah) that should prevail in society, so that this state forms a general hue for the believing society and strengthens its religious identity, encouraging people toward remembrance and making them desire it. This is an indirect call to the religion, for the scene of the believers' gathering at the noble shrines gives the believer dignity and strength, and generates in his soul a longing to journey to those pure places; and likewise the spread of supplication and of the words of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) in supplication within society, so that all kinds of people hear them, and their souls become wholesome, their limbs humble, and by virtue of that their paths in life are set right, since this means returning to Allah the Exalted and entering into His vast mercy.
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In conclusion, we mention some Qurʾanic forms of collective supplication:
- Turning to Allah when facing hardships.
The Exalted said: “When they board the ship, they invoke Allah putting exclusive faith in Him, but when He delivers them to land, behold, they ascribe partners [to Him]”. (Qurʾan 29:65)
And the Almighty said: “When distress befalls people, they supplicate their Lord, turning to Him in penitence. Then, when He lets them taste His mercy, behold, a part of them ascribe partners to their Lord”. (Qurʾan 30:33)
And the Exalted said: “When waves cover them like awnings; they invoke Allah, putting exclusive faith in Him. But when He delivers them towards land, [only] some of them remain unswerving. No one will impugn Our signs except an ungrateful traitor.” (Qurʾan 31:32)
- The supplication of the believers desiring the Face of Allah the Exalted:
The Exalted said: “Do not drive away those who supplicate their Lord morning and evening desiring His face. Neither are you accountable for them in any way, nor are they accountable for you in any way, so that you may drive them away and thus become one of the wrongdoers.” (Qurʾan 6:52)
- The supplication of Saul's troops for patience and victory when they marched out to Goliath and his troops:
The Exalted said: “So when they marched out for [encounter with] Goliath and his troops, they said, ‘Our Lord, pour patience upon us, make our feet steady, and assist us against the faithless lot.’ (250) Thus they routed them with Allah’s will”. (Qurʾan 2:250–251)
- The supplication of the Companions of the Cave while they were gathered together in their cave…
The Exalted said: “When the youths took refuge in the Cave, they said, ‘Our Lord! Grant us a mercy from Yourself, and help us on to rectitude in our affair.’” (Qurʾan 18:10)
- The supplication of those who fought alongside the prophets (a)…
The Exalted said: “How many a prophet there has been with whom a multitude of godly men fought. They did not falter for what befell them in the way of Allah, neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves; and Allah loves the steadfast. All that they said was, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs, make our feet steady, and help us against the faithless lot.’ So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the fair reward of the Hereafter; and Allah loves the virtuous.” (Qurʾan 3:146–148)
And blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the messengers, our master Muhammad, and his pure family.
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi